Classroom Activities

Students observe that air under high pressure will move toward a low-pressure area and certain objects in the air’s path may move in the same direction.

Air takes up space. It's only when air in the bottle escapes that more air is easily added!

Find out how some wavelengths of light are scattered more than others producing blue skies and red sunsets.

Use jelly beans to compare the compositions (amounts of different gases) of the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, and Venus.

Students will observe two scale models of Earth's atmosphere and the layers of the atmosphere to gain an appreciation for the size of the atmosphere compared to the planet Earth.

Students use a model to test actions for staying safe from the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. 

Students observe how different materials bend light and how we can infer the nature of the material based on the amount it bends light rays.

In this activity, students use models to observe that air is a fluid that flows due to temperature-driven density differences.

In this hands-on activity, students explore how temperature affects the behavior of air molecules.

Students learn how to crush a can with only air pressure.

Use plungers to create a vacuum and learn about how air exerts pressure.

Students will learn how the COSMIC satellites collect data about the atmosphere by measuring bending radio waves. Electromagnetic radiation, including light and radio waves, bends when it passes through substances with different densities. The amount of bending of radio waves beamed from one satellite to another allows scientists to measure traits of the atmosphere, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity, at different heights.

Learn about Bernoulli's Principle with hairdryers and ping pong balls!

In this computer-based virtual lab, students will learn about the layers of Earth's atmosphere by launching virtual weather balloons to collect temperature and pressure data at various altitudes.

In this activity, students will play the roles of various atoms and molecules to help them better understand the formation and destruction of ozone in the stratosphere.